Aston Villa Report Card: Grading position groups at the one-third mark

3 of 3

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 20: Tammy Abraham and Conor Hourihane of Aston Villa celebrate victory and during the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Swansea City at Villa Park on October 20, 2018 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) /

Central Midfielders:

Jack Grealish: 17

John McGinn: 15

Conor Hourihane: 9 + (7)

Birkir Bjarnason: 8 + (1)

Glenn Whelan: 4 + (3)

Mile Jedinak: 9

Let’s get this out of the way. John McGinn and Jack Grealish have been excellent. They are truly outstanding players who are Premier League starters for close to half of top flight clubs. Conor Hourihane follows closely, even if he hasn’t started every single game for Villa. He is trending in the right direction as a deep-lying playmaker.

The defensive midfielders in this group drop the grade from an A to an A-.

Central Midfield Position Grade: A-

Next. Andre Green Scores On Portsmouth Return. dark

Outside Midfielders/Winger:

Ahmed Elmohamady: 14 + (1)

Jonathan Kodjia: 13 + (4)

Anwar El Ghazi: 3 + (4)

Yannick Bolasie: 0 + (10)

Albert Adomah: 9 + (5)

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy: 0 + (5)

No position group in my eyes has disappointed more than the wingers. And that’s not a knock on them because they’ve been poor, but because they’ve been so underwhelming in relation to their talent levels.

Together, they combine for nine goals, but four of those came from Jonathan Kodjia as a starting centre-forward. Albert Adomah, the first wing option called upon by Dean Smith, has yet to score this season and has just one assist. Anwar El Ghazi, a Ligue 1 starter, and former Netherlands international call-up barely plays.

On the bright side, Yannick Bolasie has been a treat to watch during his ten substitute appearances.

Outside Midfielders/Wingers Position Grade: C

Centre-Forwards:

Tammy Abraham: 5

Jonathan Kodjia: 13 + (4)

Scott Hogan: 0 + (3)

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy: 0 + (5)

Tammy Abraham has been a treat of a signing. His five goals outpaces all Aston Villa scorers. His finishing has been pretty woeful, but he’s always a threat. Ditto for Jonathan Kodjia, who has been on a cold streak.

It’s good to see Scott Hogan back fit and healthy. I still think he could be a big addition to the Villa attack this season.

Centre-Forward Position Grade: B

Home/Analysis